In today's Friday 5 with KB: A favorite story from Jerry Sloan, the future of Utah, the choppy waters of this year's trade deadline, and when exactly are the Spurs going to hit double-digit losses?

1. Well... that trade deadline was beyond all reason. What was the most stunning moment for you in the midst of all the chaos of the past 72-96 hours?

Ken Berger, CBSSports.com:Deron Williams to the Nets, hands down. Though there was some hint of trouble with our report during All-Star weekend that D-Will had begun hatching his escape-to-New York plan last summer, no one expected the Jazz to take the bold step of trading him in the next 72 hours. Stunning, and a small victory for teams and owners against the superstar power-play movement.

2. You talked a lot about the business side of the Celtics' decision to move Perkins. What does it say that a big market team with deep pockets was put into a position to be concerned about finances?

KB: It's not so much finances with the Celtics. In a no-cap system like baseball has, they never would have done this trade. They just would've kept Perk and paid him. But with all signs pointing to a hard cap, or at least a harder cap on the way, Boston couldn't afford to leave itself vulnerable to losing a 26-year-old, 6-10 center and getting nothing in return. And if you think about it, one of the players the Celtics got back, Jeff Green, was someone they drafted in 2007 and traded for Ray Allen. Getting Troy Murphy on a minimum deal after he's bought out also will help ease the pain. An underrated benefit of this deal for the Thunder is that Perk's Bird rights go with him in the trade. That is, if Bird rights survive in the new CBA.

3. Buyouts are going to be all the rage for the next two weeks. What are you hearing in terms of players who might be available for the contenders to sign?

KB: Besides Murphy, Jared Jeffries is going to the Knicks, while Darius Songaila and Jason Kapono could help a contender if they're bought out. Rip Hamilton was on the verge of getting bought out as part of a trade to the Cavs, but we know that didn't work out too well for him. I doubt Hamilton, with two years left on his deal, gets bought out now. Same for Marcus Camby for the same reason.

4. Is Mikhail Prokhorov in the top five of most entertaining owners, after this week?

KB: Top two. Prokhorov is on Cuban's level now. Between his stunning squashing of the Melo trade talks in January and his bold move to extract D-Will from Utah, Prokhorov served noticed that he's in this to go toe-to-toe with the Knicks. In a related story, spokesperson Ellen Pinchuk will not go down in the annals of disingenuous spokespeople, right there with Baghdad Bob.

5. How hard is the personal side of these trades for players? We're reading on Twitter players saying goodbye to each other, packing up their houses, their families. Is the cost of these moves high on a personal level?

KB: Harder than most people think. The common reaction is that no one should feel sorry for the players because they make so much money. But their kids don't care how much money their father makes, only that they won't see him for the rest of the season because he's been traded. Chauncey Billups is a prime example. He thought he was going home to finish his career in Colorado, only to have to tell his children he'll see them in May or June. Money is good, but nothing compares to family.

The Indiana Pacers and Memphis Grizzlies had agreed to a trade Thursday. Maybe. They may have. I mean, it seems they had an agreement, at one point, on something involving O.J. Mayo going to Indiana in exchange for Josh McRoberts and a first round pick. It wasn't a great haul for the Grizzlies, but it wasn't anything terrible, either. It gave them a versatile power forward to back up Zach Randolph and a draft pick, which they need all they can get of since they draft so terribly, and they were sending another one out for Shane Battier.

But, then, of course, what happens with the Grizzlies so often happened to the Grizzlies, and things fell apart. What, exactly? Well, that depends on who you ask. From the Memphis Commercial Appeal:

But the deal was never consummated because the teams missed the NBA’s 2 p.m. deadline.

“Despite published reports, O.J. was not traded,” Griz general manager Chris Wallace said in a text.

Based on conversations with sources who have knowledge of the situation, a third team -- New Orleans -- was involved in the negotiations to make the financial aspects of the deal meet NBA rules. Late in the talks, New Orleans pulled out, leaving the Grizzlies and Pacers scrambling for another partner. Another team was found and agreements were made, but the 2 p.m. deadline had passed.

Oh, okay. These things happen. New Orleans pulled out of the deal as teams often do. Except, there's this from the Indianapolis Star:

Sources told The Star, though, that the Pacers called the league at 3 p.m. to notify them of the three-team deal, and were on hold, waiting to get into the league's queue, when the deadline passed at 3:01 p.m. While the Pacers were waiting, New Orleans apparently backed out of the deal -- which wouldn't have been consummated anyway, since the league insisted it was 3:01.

Now, on the surface, it certainly looks like Indiana was the one to blow this up. I mean, really, you're calling the office at 3 p.m.? You had four days post All-Star Break to get this done and you're calling at 3 p.m.? You would have had a potentially significant trade rejected had New Orleans not backed out because you were on hold? Come on, now.

Except that the Pacers weren't the ones with the situation. O.J. Mayo has been on the block for months. Ownership and management have repeatedly denied that they were considering trading Mayo, but clearly, that was a lie. They've had a months since the fight with Tony Allen, a month since he was suspended for violating the banned substance policy, a half season since the coaching staff openly questioned his ability in preseason and he started out on a disastrous shooting slump. But there they are, at the deadline, hoping there's an operator standing by when so many teams are getting deals in. In that respect Indiana's not alone in calling the trade in. It's how it works as bizarre as it is. But Memphis should not have allowed it to come to this.

Because now Mayo knows the franchise has no investment in him, no confidence in him, no trust in him. And he has to make it through the rest of this season with that hanging over him.

Mayo may have acted like he lacks common sense this season at time. If so, it seems like he learned it from the top down.

PORTLAND -- The 2011 NBA trade deadline was as wild as it gets, with seven late trades clogging up the league office, and an eighth - a potential deal that would have sent O.J. Mayo to the Indiana Pacers - that wasn't executed in time. As crazy as it was for fans and media to process shortly after the noon PST deadline, things were even more hectic for the executives in the minutes just before.

According to Portland Trail Blazers GM Rich Cho, his organization did not agree to trade for Charlotte Bobcats forward Gerald Wallace until just seven minutes before the deadline. "The trade did not get consummated in principle until 11:53 AM this morning," Cho said at a press conference Thursday afternoon in the Rose Garden. "All the variables in the trade, the terms and conditions, we didn't come to an agreement until the very end."

Wallace, an All-Star and NBA All-Defense player in 2010, was finally swapped for Blazers center Joel Przybilla, center Sean Marks, backup forward Dante Cunningham and two future first round picks. Cho said the last-minute exchange wasn't entirely expected. "This morning we thought would stand pat. We were sitting in my office, me and my staff, and thinking 'Well, it doesn't look like anything is going to happen.' All of a sudden we had about five deals we could have done."

The late scramble happened despite the fact the Blazers first broached a Wallace trade as far back as "a few months ago" and the fact that acquiring Wallace "was at the top of the list" of Cho's trade deadline priorities. "He exemplifies everything we are looking for in a player," Cho said. "He plays both ends of the floor, his work ethic is tremendous ... He has a lot of toughness, his nickname is 'Crash' for a reason. He just plays really hard."

As we all know, motivation to deal increases exponentially as the clock ticks. Cho compared his team's trade to the one made by the New Jersey Nets that nabbed Utah Jazz point guard Deron Williams, noting that the type of assets present in both deals made the late execution possible. "One thing I really believe in is accumulating assets, acquiring picks and young players. It's for this very reason: to acquire better players to improve the team. If you look at some of the deals that were made recently, like the Deron Williams trade that Utah made. One of the big reasons they were able to make that trade is because they had those two picks and that was really attractive to Utah. I really believe in accumulating assets and turning those assets into players to improve the team."

As the deadline neared, the thought of long-term salary cap relief and the hope that two draft picks represent was apparently too much for the Bobcats to pass up. A few more minutes of indecision, however, and Wallace would still be in Charlotte.

The Blazers brass was clearly happy the trade clock didn't run all the way out. "We're thrilled to death to have him," Cho said, cracking a slight smile.

With close to a dozen trades before the 2011 NBA Trade Deadline, we break down the winners and losers in each division.Posted by EOB Staff

Well, that escalated quickly. After an insane week that started with the Carmelo Anthony trade finally coming to fruition, the NBA trade deadline finished with nearly a dozen deals having been completed. Here are the winners and losers from this insane week that was.
Atlantic Division

Plenty of good arguments to be had for the New York Knicks snagging Carmelo Anthony and the Boston Celtics nabbing Jeff Green, but no other team in the entire league changed its fortunes like the New Jersey Nets, who acquired the single best player who moved during this year's trading season: point guard Deron Williams. The price New Jersey paid was meaningful but not crippling, and Williams sets them up to win and build far better than rookie big man Derrick Favors would have. We already saw how far point guard Devin Harris could carry them the last two seasons. Williams will hopefully breathe some new life into big man Brook Lopez, help maximize the production from New Jersey's many role players and serve as an attraction to other marquee names in free agency. Nobody else made a bigger leap into relevancy that the Nets did, and that's worthy of the winner title. -- Ben Golliver

Speaking of struggling with relevance, allow me to introduce the Toronto Raptors, who moved a first round pick for James Johnson, a seldom used forward who has failed to deliver on his draft promise during his two years in the NBA. It's not a terrible move but it's one that comes with limited upside, leaving the Raptors to continue to churn below mediocrity. Blowing things up was probably the way to go -- unloading Jose Calderon's contract would have been a great start -- but asset collection would have also inspired some hope among the Raptors diehards. Instead, the cynical wait for Jay Triano's firing marches on. -- BG

I don't think there could possibly be a bigger winner than the Oklahoma City Thunder. They won a Pulitzer, a Grammy, a Nobel Prize and an Oscar all in one swoop.

Not only did two of the division's very best players in Deron Williams and Carmelo Anthony get moved, opening the door for OKC to stay at the top of the Northwest for years to come, the Thunder did a little of their own maneuvering, picking up Kendrick Perkins and Nazr Mohammed to fill the biggest gap in the team's depth chart.

Giving up Jeff Green stings as he was one of the original long term pieces that the Thunder was building with. But he was a restricted free agent and indications were that he wasn't going to be re-signed for the price OKC was comfortable with. So the Thunder flips him and Nenad Krstic (an expiring contract) for the Celtics starting center (and Nate Robinson). Perkins is an unrestricted free agent himself this summer, but not only does OKC get him for two months, it also has the cap space and desire to re-sign him over the summer.

So let's recap that real quick: Some of the main competition got worse and the Thunder got better. That's a good haul. -- Royce Young

Any time you give up a superstar, you aren't going to get equal value. It's just reality. And while the Jazz received a nice return for Deron Williams (Derrick Favors, Devin Harris, two first-round picks) it's really not even close to enough.

The Jazz still had the rest of this season and a whole other year with Williams. They wanted to strike preemptively to avoid any welling Derondrama of taking place next season. But is that really worth just shipping out one of the league's best point guards, just like that?

In the past 30 days, Utah has lost its coach and its face. Those are big blows. The Jazz are moving on and will try and rebuild a winner around younger players while creating cap space and stockpiling picks, but there's no denying that this isn't the same team without Williams.

The Jazz will be lucky to stumble into the postseason this season and will likely be a lottery team next year. And to think, they could've had at least another full season with Williams, but instead they chose to jump at the best offer they might get. I understand the thinking of trading a player that won't re-sign, but still, is what you get back worth the time you're giving up? -- RY

It took some time for Michael Jordan to realize it, but the best maneuver for the Bobcats was simply to set fire to the roster. The team was never going anywhere with its existing pieces so it just made all the sense in the world to start over.

What the Bobcats received on deadline day was a couple expiring contracts (Joel Przybilla, Morris Peterson) while also finding two first-round drafts picks and not a bad young big man in D.J. White. They lost Gerald Wallace, which hurts, but that's the price for rebuilding .

Going into the summer, the normally financially strapped Bobcats will have some room to look around, while also being able to build around the cheapest talent available -- rookies. The forthcoming draft classes aren't that excellent, but there are good players to be had if you look hard enough.

It's odd to see a team that threw away a chance at the postseason as a winner, but the Bobcats did the right thing. This has been in the cards for months and while they didn't get Stephen Jackson moved, they sent a good chunk of the roster off. -- RY

Orlando did all of its dealing more than a month ago and didn't really have much left to pursue. The Magic wanted a big man to help inside, but they never did find a suitable deal.

But on top of that, they are now kind of that idle ship in the East. They have the talent to win, but Otis Smith's blockbuster hasn't worked out well at all. Gilbert Arenas isn't scoring, Hedo Turkoglu isn't creating and Jason Richardson is mainly just a shooter. Dwight Howard wanted more help inside and the Magic didn't get it.

(Where they did win was Kendrick Perkins getting moved. Perkins was always one of the best defenders for Dwight Howard and with him out of the picture, the Celtics aren't nearly as formidable inside and will likely struggle guarding Howard. So that's one plus for them.)

Again, not that they really had to pieces to make a big splash, but maybe Smith jumped the gun on a trade. Maybe if he waits for the deadline, he's a player for some of the bigger fish like Gerald Wallace or even Deron Williams. That's speculation, but if Orlando's not going anywhere, it would've been worth it, right? -- RY

The Rockets needed to do something, and it's hard to criticize what they came up with. Turning Shane Battier's expiring contract into a decent high-risk, maybe-reward project in bust-to-date center Hasheem Thabeet was solid. Moving point guard Aaron Brooks, who the Rockets clearly weren't willing to commit big dollars to long-term, for productive and cheap point guard Goran Dragic of the Suns, bought the Rockets a year to sort out their long-term point guard situation. Together, the trades serve as value plays for a franchise that has spun its wheels since Yao Ming's abrupt decline into the injury abyss. There wasn't much competition for the "winner" tag in this division, as it was fairly quiet and devoid of major division-altering moves. While playoff contention might get tabled until next year, the Rockets plunge ahead with their smarter-than-average, flexibility-oriented approach. -- BG

Any time you try valiantly but can't complete a trade of a player who has started a fight on your team plane and been suspended for violating the league's performance enhancing drugs policy, you are the automatic loser. That's just a default rule of the NBA. When the Grizzlies failed to complete a deal that would have shipped O.J. Mayo to the Indiana Pacers for Josh McRoberts, they added another dramatic chapter to an already difficult situation, sending a message to a troubled player that he isn't really wanted but, hey, he is still welcome to show up for practice tomorrow. Awkward. Mayo still has tons of promise, but this disaster area clearly isn't the right location for him to realize it. -- BG

It wasn't a huge win. It wasn't even a considerable win. But the Cavaliers needed to make efforts to go young, and they have done so. The Cavs sent off Mo Williams and Jamario Moon's expiring contract for Baron Davis and a first round pick from the Clippers. The initial reaction is revulsion, because they were forced to acquire Baron Davis' massive contract, knee problems, and laziness. But two things. One, Davis has shown with Blake Griffin that he can be a not-terrible player. The Cavs aren't looking for a guy to be a difference maker next year. Davis will have considerably more value next season at the deadline with a 2013 expiring contract (if he doesn't opt-out). It's a large chunk of change with nearly $29 million left on his deal, but if they're able to flip him at some point, buy him out, or get some level of production, it's worth it. Why? Because two, that draft pick is the gold mine, here. The Clippers are not going to make the playoffs this year, will be in the lottery, and can end up with a valuable draft pick. As a result, the Cavs get what they need most. A high draft pick. That's what they needed to do.

In a second deal, the Cavaliers picked up Semih Erden and Luke Harangody from the Celtics. Neither are going to set the world on fire, but both have shown flashes of talent for the Celtics, and can be valuable role players or added to offseason trades. For the price of a second round pick, that's a near-steal. The Cavaliers missed out on a big opportunity when a deal with Golden State fell through, but in the end, they at least moved forward with rebuilding instead of standing pat. It wasn't a great deadline, but it wasn't a disaster. That's what this season is. --Matt Moore

Drat! Foiled! The Pacers were this close to landing O.J. Mayo in a trade sending Josh McRoberts and a draft pick to Memphis. It's a bigger loss for the Grizzlies who now have to deal with the fallout, but a lost opportunity for Indiana. Brandon Rush has vanished in the rotation and the Pacers need a true 2-guard to make them a better scoring team on the perimeter. Mayo would have fit that bill perfectly. But as always should be the lesson with the Grizzlies, if you give them an opportunit to screw something up, that's what they'll do. This time it backfired on the Pacers and they're stuck, despite McRoberts being a more-than-serviceable forward, without Mayo. Plus it looks embarassing to have agreed to a deal and have the deadline pass. But perhaps the biggest reason they lost was their insistance on not trading their expiring contracts. They had Mike Dunleavey Jr. and Jeff Foster both available and both expendable and failed to get on the market. They could have brought in a legitimate addition to push them into a solid middle-playoff-seed team. Instead, they're left with the same squad, playing well, but contending cores are not built on three-week win streaks. If they can't do anything with the money they'll clear, they may regret having been so quiet on this very loud day. -- MM

Marcus Thornton's career is probably going one of two ways. He is likely not going to end up as just an average NBA player. He's either going to blow up and be a household name where he plays in terms of scoring capacity, or he's going to flame out horribly and be an inefficient malcontent. Odds are much more on the former. I'm not saying he'll be a star in this league, but he can be very good and part of a core that helps the Kings contend, if they keep him. Moving Landry clears space, clears someone who was unhappy, clears money the team can't afford to spend. Thornton is a young asset, and one that can fill the bucket up. That's especially important for them this season with Tyreke Evans on the bench due to injury. But when he gets back, Evans-Thornton-Cousins? That's a phenomenal balance of talent. Just because this season has been a disaster doesn't mean next year has to be. Great move for the Kings. I'm not going to dignify the Marquis Daniels trade with a response. -- MM

Bear in mind, Aaron Brooks is a good player. He really is. The Rockets hardballed him because they understand his limitations and never overcommit to a player who's not truly great . That's just not what they do. And Brooks is not a great player. Furthermore, Brooks fits with the Suns only to the degree that it's nice to have nitro-boost on the fastest car in the world. You're already fast. Why are you spending more to get faster? Brooks will struggle to get time behind Steve Nash, who's kept himself in such good condition he won't be going anywhere any time soon. Brooks was acquired for a talented guard in Goran Dragic and a first round pick. That pick wasn't going to be super-valuable and the Suns bleed first-rounders like they're nothing, but still, for a team that's struggling to find an identity after the loss of Stoudemire, this move seemed at best superfluous and at worst a step backwards. Brooks kind of fits the role of the departed Leandro Barbosa, but was that really what the Suns needed? This was a strange trade, and not one that helped them. -- MM

Wallace, famously nicknamed “Crash”, is a prototype for the type of basketball Blazers coach Nate McMillan likes to play: hard-nosed, aggressive, versatile, two-way and old school. He will find himself in like company alongside Blazers guard Wesley Matthews and forward Nicolas Batum, who both share his enthusiam for defense and high-intensity play.

This trade does not push the Blazers over the top into the realm of championship contention, but the fact that it didn’t require Portland to give up any of its major assets makes it a trade more than worth doing. None of the pieces sacrificed were critical or irreplaceable, and allowing Przybilla’s contract to expire this summer wouldn’t have helped the Blazers financially, as they are almost certainly committed to being over the cap for the foreseeable future thanks to long-term contracts already given to Aldridge and Roy, as well as big money that will need to be committed to center Greg Oden. As for the picks, the Blazers can always purchase draft picks in the future as they often have in the past. This trade comes down to cashing in multiple smaller assets into one big chip, a move the Blazers have been hesitant to make in previous years, much to their fans’ collective disappointment.

Pulling the trigger on this trade simply boiled down to whether Wallace was worth adding to the roster at his salary price of $10.5 million. Given his all-NBA defensive pedigree and the fact that two major division rivals – the Utah Jazz and Denver Nuggets – lost their franchise players this week, that question feels like a no-brainer. The Blazers get better, without a doubt, while the competition got worse. Portland is now poised to compete for the Northwest Division title and has improved its chances of winning a playoff series, something that would mean a lot to Allen and his management team given how injuries to Roy and Oden seemingly derailed the team’s carefully-constructed championship blueprints.

The trade leaves Portland thin in the frontcourt, but the Blazers have found success playing small ball lineups because of a string of injuries this season, and Wallace should fit nicely into that plan. When the Blazers move LaMarcus Aldridge to center, McMillan will be able to use Matthews, Batum and Wallace nearly interchangeably on the perimeter. The rotation could get tight, though, when guard Brandon Roy continues to make his comeback from knee surgery but the Blazers could opt for a big lineup with Roy playing the point guard spot on offense and defending off the ball on defense.

A few questions remain: Are there enough minutes for both Batum and Wallace, how will Portland address the age of key players like Andre Miller and Marcus Camby and where will Portland turn to address its lack of frontcourt depth? But this trade made the Blazers better this season and it didn’t meaningfully compromise their future flexibility. That adds up to a strong start for first year GM Rich Cho.

It had been something on the table this entire season. It was whispered by many, but it didn't appear that the Bobcats were going to get serious about truly blowing up the roster and starting anew.

Wednesday, there was a lot of chatter that Charlotte was in active talks with Portland about sending former All-Star Gerald Wallace to the Blazers. And after a good amount of back and forth with one report saying Michael Jordan was getting cold feet, it finally happened.

Wallace is headed to Portland for Joel Przybilla, Dante Cunningham, Sean Marks and two first-round picks. The Bobcats decided to set fire to the roster and it was about time.

The price of this trade is the two first rounders, but also Przybilla, whose contract is up after this season. Charlotte is now setting itself up to actually rebuild, instead of just treading water.

They are still in the Eastern playoff hunt and they'll likely slip from there, but it's worth it. That just means they get another lottery pick this season. At some point, hanging on to mediocrity just isn't worth it. If you're actually going to contend and make a dent in the tough top tier of the East, you've got to do better than what Charlotte was putting out.

Yes, losing Wallace hurts. He was under contract through next season and had a player option in 2013. He was making almost $10 million which isn't a ton, but it was painfully clear that he wasn't the type of player that really was going to be a true building block. He's a great player, a great rebounder and a good scorer. But the Bobcats need to find a new identity and the best way to do that is by creating financial flexibility and stockpiling picks.

In this NBA atmosphere, you're either trying to contend now or build for later. The Bobcats had caught themselves in a Bermuda Triangle in between of being good enough to win sometimes, but never with a vision to actually be a true contender. The step to blow up and is rebuild isn't easy and that's why Jordan probably hesitated, but this was the right move.

It's only fitting that in one of the biggest trade seasons in NBA history, that we ended the deadline in completely insane style. Multiple outlets including Yahoo! Sports first reported and Ken Berger of CBSSports.com has confirmed that the Boston Celtics has traded Kendrick Perkins and Nate Robinson to Oklahoma City for Jeff Green, Nenad Krstic and a 2012 1st round pick. Here's our analysis of the trade (updating as more information becomes available).

OKLAHOMA CITY RECEIVES: KENDRICK PERKINS, NATE ROBINSON
by Royce Young

There has always been a very specific ideology for Sam Presti in Oklahoma City. Build a group of young players that can grow and develop together. It started in 2007 when he took Kevin Durant No. 2 overall and acquired the fifth pick Jeff Green for Ray Allen. From there, the pieces started to fit.

And this Thunder team jumped way ahead of schedule, winning 50 games last season. Because of that, the slow development process sped up. There was an obvious opportunity to win now, and while the existing team was definitely good, there was always something missing.

Most of that centered around Green and his starting power forward spot. There always appeared to just be something missing there. He was undersized, didn't fit well next to Nenad Krstic and lacked on the glass and the defensive end. He could hit big shots and make big plays, but is was always clear that something wasn't right.

So Presti put his finger on the big red button and finally pushed it. He sent Jeff Green and Krstic to Boston for Kendrick Perkins and Nate Robinson.

A bittersweet say for Thunder fans as Green was a clear fan favorite. He was always close with teammates Kevin Durant, James Harden and Russell Westbrook. He was always seen as one of the core members of this group. But in the world where what counts is wins and losses, not how much fun you have and how well you get along off the court, it was a deal that had to be done.

The Thunder already was uncertain about Green's future, choosing not to sign him to an extension earlier in the season. He was set to become a restricted free agent this summer and even there, he was likely to get an offer that would be out of the Thunder's comfort zone.

While Perkins is also an unrestricted free agent, he fits what OKC would be willing to pay for. The Thunder tried to lock down a defensive-minded center two years ago when they traded for Tyson Chandler. But that deal was rescinded because of Chandler's physical and it put OKC back to work finding that help inside.

But what the Thunder did here was make a move for the now, finally. At the same time though, it doesn't jeopardize the future in any way. Green wasn't a sure thing in OKC anyway, and now Perkins gets a two month audition to earn a contract with the Thunder. OKC has improved itself against the beastly interiors of Los Angeles and Dallas and now can match up with anyone.

It came at a cost of sending out one of the city's favorite players and a close friend and teammate with Durant, Westbrook and Harden, but it had to be done. At some point, you've got to win. And the Thunder's trying to do it now.

This is going to go down as more about what Boston surrendered rather than what they got. They did not get an elite player back, so trading the franchise starting center who helped them win a championship and nearly a second had he not suffered a severe injury is going to raise a lot of voices in Beantown. The Celtics have always made it clear they are about winning championships at any cost. They love the members of their organization, but this is a business, and their business is staying on top for as long as the Big 3's window is open. Something convinced them that Perkins was no longer able to lead them to a championship. So they flipped him and Robinson for what they considered their biggest need: a wing scorer. That he can serve as a stretch four, which is a considerable weakness to them as currently constructed, is a bonus. Green represents an odd representation: the move to win now, and to set themselves up for the future.

Green is an RFA this summer, meaning they can decide whether or not to sign him based on whether he helps them win a championship or not. Krstic, on the other hand, is an expiring contract. Should they renounce both Green and Krstic, that's close to $10 million they're freeing up in the event of a dramatically lowered CBA, or if they feel the need to retool to go at a championship once more. If both help them win a second title with the Big 3, they can easily re-sign both to keep them in town.

But at the end of the day, the Celtics surrendered Kendrick Perkins. Perk! The big man! The biggest reason that Boston was able to match up with Dwight Howard. Now they'll be turning to a very old core of Shaquille O'Neal, Jermaine O'Neal, and Krstic to try and combat Howard. That's a risky proposition. The Celtics do not lack for confidence. They must feel they can overcome the Heat, the Magic, and the Bulls without their starting center. Either that, or his knee was enough of an issue to force them to trade him.

Perkins only came back about a month ago from serious knee surgery that kept him out of the Finals' Game 7 last season. He has looked good at times but struggled in others. Tuesday night against the Warriors he tweaked the knee and did not return, limping off the floor. Two days later, he's traded to Oklahoma City. The Celtics may have felt they could not risk him going down to injury again, with how much their team depended on him. So they pulled in the taller, bigger, Krstic, who has a nice mid-range shot Perkins does not, and acquired a stretch four.

Stretch fours have long disrupted the Celtics' defensive schemes, with players like Chris Bosh, Rashard Lewis, and LaMarcus Aldridge hurting them with their ability to hit from the mid-range, while Boston's defenders shade to the paint. Green can step out and defend those players, and also provides them a young, athletic option who can hit from the perimeter. Green's a gamble, though.

One element that's likely in play here is the Celtics' pushing for a player soon to be bought out. The most obvious target is Troy Murphy, traded to the Warriors from the Nets during their acquisition of Deron Williams in a separate deal. Murphy is expected to be bought out of his contract, and would provide a versatile big for the Celtics. If not Murphy, then another candidate could take his place, considering how much space the Celtics have cleared with this and other moves.

This whole trade is a gamble, and it's not sure why the Celtics would risk their continuity after the year they've had. But one thing's for certain. Things have gotten even more interesting in the already wild Eastern Conference.

With just minutes to go before the deadline, here's a potential big fish. ESPN.com reports: Sources close to the talks told ESPN.com that the Cavaliers and Golden State Warriors have been discussing trade scenarios Thursday that would send Jamison to Oakland. One source briefed on the talks said the discussions are ongoing but that no trade agreement has yet been reached.

Sam Amick reports : "Because the Sacramento Kings are under league minimum payroll, they're on lookout for a trade in which they get cash to cover salary of player coming back."

KB reports it's either for Brooks or Jared Jeffries, and that picks are being discussed. This looks like a terrible deal for Daryl Morey from the onset.

We said earlier Jonny Flynn was on the market. Apparently the Rockets, for some bizarre reason, are aiming at getting him according to ESPN . This would surely have to be in conjunction with moving Aaron Brooks for something, otherwise the Rockets are spending assets to acquire a sub-par point guard.

T.J. Ford could be headed for a buyout, according to Berger . Miami and Portland have interest. Portland is particularly interesting since it could be a sign they're still looking to move Andre Miller. This would be the second Pacer bought out in two years, after Jamal Tinsley last year.

The Celtics could be up to your typical shady trade-buyout-re-sign deal, but this time it's even more shady considering the circumstances. Ken Berger reports that the Celtics, having had no luck getting anyone to bite on Nate Robinson plus a pick, are considering moving Marquis Daniels. The deal is of course structured to have the team take on Quisy's salary, then buy him out, at which point he re-signs with the Celtics. But with Daniels out after a scary neck injury, that may not happen should he be unable to return this season. Still, trading the guy who had a spinal injury on your squad?

ESPN reports that Toronto has made rebounding Reggie Evans, within sight of returning from injury, available. He could garner some quick floods of interest, given his veteran status and rebounding ability.

Ken Berger reports that with the Sixers on a win streak, Andre Iguodala is off the market. Because, really, a three-week win streak is what you want to make decisions off of.

Chris Vernon of 730 AM in Memphis reports that there have been discussions between Houston and Memphis regarding a swap involving Shane Battier and Hasheem Thabeet. There are obviously other pieces involved as Shane Battier is a good player and Hasheem Thabeet is not, but the conversations are open, though not close. The Commercial Appeal reports the trade involves Memphis also sending a first round pick to Houston, which is too much for an aging Battier. Which means Memphis will probably do the deal.

ESPN reports that the Mavericks plan to make a last-ditch effort at Tayshaun Prince today before the deadline. It's a perfect fit for the Mavericks, but for whatever reason, the Pistons are turning down every advance for Prince. Because, really, when you're facing a rebuilding effort, you want to keep those big, long-term contracts as long as possible. Dallas is also reportedly interested in J.R. Smith. Apparently they fill they have a need at "crazy two-guard."

Join Ken Berger of CBSSports.com along with Ben Golliver, Royce Young, and Matt Moore from the Eye on Basketball blog as we discuss the trade deadline in a special three-hour livechat starting at 12 p.m EST.